Eye Poppy
by plantainfish
Summary: Crew from Stardust Crusaders living in the same neighborhood but focusing on Mariah and Midler being gal pals (my first writing in years that isn't an academic paper so...)
1. Chapter 1

Mariah and Midler sat on the couch staring at the young boy. It was supposed to be their date night but there was other plans. The couple had even gotten Hol Horse to agree to watch their kid, Manny. Not actually Hol Horse himself, but his adoptive kids Oingo and Boingo said they'd take good care of him. Yet here they were sitting on the ugly yellow couch that was a few decades overdue staring at Dio's son. The walls were painted a beige color and there were no decor on the walls. It was definitely a man's house.

The kid was sweet; he told them hi when his father ushered them into the house before disappearing into one of the back rooms.

"What's your name little guy?" Midler asked. She was better with the small talk and overall mood. Mariah sat beside her wishing she was outside smoking a cigarette.

"I wanna be called Gio," he responded.

"OK Gio, I'm Midler and this grumpy butt is Mariah," (insert a 'hi Ms. Midler and hi Ms. Mariah' here from Gio) "so what are you doing here?"

"I dunno," he said looking at the ceiling, "I didn't want to be home…and I'm hungry."

After that sentence, Dio finally peered out from behind the hallway wall. He motioned for Mariah to follow him. She rose and rolled her eyes. Midler volunteered herself to keep an eye on Gio. Dio, for once, had the decency to put a shirt on. Normally he lounged around the house topless with his roommates, the D'arby brothers, coming and going as they pleased.

Mariah stood in front of closed door to Dio's room. She crossed her arms and gave him a steady gaze. The only furniture in the room was his bed and a small nightstand that boasted a lamp sans shade. The bed was unmade. The brown sheets more on the floor than on the actual bed.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the kid," Mariah said.

"No I, Dio, am not afraid of him. It's just weird."

"I bet but then again I'm not the one hiding from my son. You can't even deny it. I mean, his hair's black but he sure as hell looks like you."

"I'm not denying him! But to have your kid of things to show up on your doorstep is a bit terrifying."

"Mhmm, whatever. I'd love to help you more Dio but me and my wife have reservations," Mariah reached for the doorknob.

Dio grabbed the sleeve of her blouse. He stared at her with his intrusive eyes. He was a massive man that towered over her. They were so close to each other that Dio could have easily placed his hands around her neck and snap it. "Can you at least take him? You both are doing so good at raising your own kid, what's his name?"

"Our son's name is Manny. You should know this Dio. We've been your neighbors for years now."

"Forget that. But you two are far more suitable to raise this boy instead of me. I, Dio, cannot continue my lifestyle with him around the house."

"It was that lifestyle that brought him into this world. I hate to break it to you Dio but maybe it's time for you to own up to your consequences."

With that, Mariah left the room. She gathered her wife in the living room who was playing word games with Gio.

"Sorry buddy but Ms. Midler has got to come with me," Mariah said giving a little smile.

Dio had reappeared from the back and awkwardly in the middle of the hallway. His eyes shifted over to the kid then back to the ladies as if for a final plea that they would take the boy with them. They did not. The couple left the house after Midler promised Gio that she would come visit him again.

The sun had set an hour or so before but the grass was already a bit damp. It was probably from the humidity. The weatherman had said that there were a chance of scattered showers. Nothing that they would need an umbrella for. Midler stopped at her rose bush that separated their house from Dio's. She fingered a rose bud before following her wife to the vehicle. The two crawled into their SUV: Mariah in the driver's seat and Midler in the passenger's. Their son's booster seat sat in the back. Hol Horse said they were going to spend a night in so they won't be needing it.

They drove in silence. The light posts created slants of light that passed their faces with no empathy. It was at the second red light when Midler broke the silence.

"Gio was abused," she simply said.

Mariah looked at her wife. She was staring out the window with her mouth in her hand. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. Mariah could see that there were tears pricking in her eyes in the reflection.

There was a lump in her throat, so she swallowed before speaking, "What did he say?"

"Something along the lines that she would put him in a dark place and his stepdad said he was very bad so he deserved to be punished. I mean I'm paraphrasing it but holy shit I'm so glad he got out of there."

The light had turned green but Mariah didn't drive forward. The cars behind them honked before driving around them. She just stared at her wife before noticing that the light had changed. She pulled off the road onto the parking lot of a gas station. There were a few cars parked at the pumps but most of the people were inside the store searching for some night snacks. The gear was put in park and Mariah crawled over the central console. She held her wife in her arms and kissed the top of her forehead. Midler smelled faintly of rose petals and talcum powder. They held each other for a few minutes. Muffled sobs rose from Midler while Mariah fought the urge to cry also. The moment passed and Midler finally drew herself away.

"Ha whoops, I guess I messed up my makeup," she laughed.

"We don't have to go to the restaurant tonight. We can just go home and relax like usual. There's some tv dinners in the fridge."

"No, no. We finally got out the house and I brought my mascara along."

Midler flipped the sun visor down and grabbed a napkin out of the glove box. She wiped away the black running lines of makeup. Mariah crawled back to her side of the car and pulled back onto the road.


	2. Chapter 2

The meal was decent. They could have easily cooked something better at the house, but the act of going out to eat was a rare treat within itself. They chatted over pleasant nothings and passed on getting dessert only to end up at a drive through ordering vanilla ice cream cones. Mariah attempted to drive and eat at the same time but the cone melted faster so her hand got sticky. Midler laughed and grabbed the cone while Mariah tried to clean her hand and the steering wheel.

Back at the house, they parked the car and went for a walk. Hol Horse lived a few houses down in a small house he purchased from the Joestars. Joseph Joestar was still a property mogul and was the head of the Homeowners Association for the neighborhood. Even though there was a front door that faced the road, it was understood by the neighborhood that you had to knock on the side door that opened to the car port. Mariah knocked on the faded white door. There were spider webs and spiders that hid in the corner of the door. A small brown spider scurried away as Mariah brushed web off of her pants.

Hol Horse answered the door. He wore a tank top that said "save a horse, ride a cowboy" and running shorts. He was clearly getting ready for bed but had stayed up waiting for the ladies to show up. He scratched the back of his neck and a cigarette hung out of the corner of his mouth. "Come on in. I reckon you wanna smoke Mariah?"

He turned to the glass table in the middle of the dining room. Papers, plates, and other oddities piled on top of the table. He pushed aside one of Boingo's school folders and found a pack. Mariah gladly took one. There was a glass French door behind the table which led to the backyard. On the patio, Mariah and Hol Horse smoked. Midler looked out into the yard. There was a shed that had obviously seen better days. A tree drooped beside the shed and underneath was a firepit for when the days got colder.

"Yeah the kids were good. Y'all mighty fine welcomed," Hol Horse broke the silence. "Did something happen on your date? Cause y'all sure are quiet tonight?"

"It was nice… it's just, have you spoken to Dio recently?" Midler asked.

Hol Horse inhaled sharply and started to cough. His face was flushed. The ladies had asked him a little after they met whether or not he had a crush on Dio. Hol Horse avoided eye contact and promptly said that he had many a girlfriend and girlfriends all over so why would he be interested in someone like that.

"N-No why?" he regained his composure. He chewed on the end of his cigarette to fake the air of being uninterested.

"He has a kid now," Mariah said.

"A KID?!" Hol Horse dropped his cigarette on the concrete. "Shit," he muttered as he reached over to the flower pot on the table. He rubbed it in the dirt to put out the flame before lighting another one.

"And I think he was abused. I mean from the way he talked but I don't understand how he figured out where Dio lived and how he got here. Do you think a kid could walk all the way here without being noticed?" Midler said.

"And on top of that, Dio told me that he wanted us to take the kid away," Mariah added.

"What? How come you didn't tell me that earlier?"

"I forgot about it."

"How do you forget something like that?"

Hol Horse stood up, "I will adopt the buckaroo."

"Um, no Hol Horse," Mariah rubbed her cigarette in the potted soil, "I told Dio it was his problem so he would have to figure out a solution to it. Plus this is probably the first kid to find him, God knows how many more are running around this world."

"True, if you adopt one kid then Dio might try to push the other ones that find him onto us," Midler said "But what are the chances that all of his kids are going to want to live with him. It sounds like a bad plot to a B film or something along those lines."

The glass door opened and a flood of light hit the adults. Hol Horse turned around with one arm hanging off the back of the chair. Mariah and Midler were both squinting. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

"Hey, uh, I heard voices so I thought I'd come out here. Izzit ok if I grab a coke HH?" It was Oingo. He stood in the doorway wearing a _Clockwork Orange_ t-shirt and striped pajama bottoms. He grabbed his coke and took the remaining empty seat. "Manny is asleep in Boingo's room. They were reading comics when I left."

He popped the tab to his Coke and took a swig, "I'm guessing your date night went well."

They made small talk asking Oingo about school and how he felt about graduating. He shrugged and said it was another step in life so you couldn't not do it. "But y'know, if Hol Horse never took me and Boingo off the streets I probably wouldn't be graduating so thanks again bud."

"Talking about that, would you want another brother?" Hol Horse asked.

Oingo choked on his coke and started to cough, "What the fuck, I mean sorry, what the heck. Don't tell me, Ms. Mariah, Ms. Midler are one of you carrying his child?!"

"Oh hell no!" Mariah responded, "No offense Hol Horse but you're too ugly to be my type."

"Mine also," Midler added, "I'd rather a younger guy if I had to kiss a guy."

Hol Horse made a face and raised his hands. "I guess I don't need a lesbian's opinion cause-"

"Yeah cause you have girlfriends all over the world. Well, where are they Hol Horse?" Mariah cut him off.

"They're probably hiding from him because his house is such a mess," Midler pushed his shoulder.

His face turned beet red and he looked out into the yard. He crossed his arms and tried to think of a snappy remark but he pulled a blank.

"Do you have a girlfriend yet Oingo?" Midler asked.

"Oh no ma'am, if I had a girlfriend do you think I'd be at my house on a Friday night like this?"

"Good point there," Mariah agreed.

"So anyway, what's that all about Hol Horse? The whole brother thing, not you being ugly." Oingo asked. He placed his coke can on the table. You could hear the ' _tink_ ' of the empty can against the plastic of the table.

"Dio apparently has a son now that he doesn't want."

"Damn, about time one showed up. He's pulling girls in and out of his house at like all hours of the day. The guys at school keep asking me to figure out how he does it. So what you gonna adopt him or something? Is that even legal?"

"I don't think so," Mariah said.

They heard a tap on the door. It was Boingo this time. Hol Horse looked at his watch and said that it was around 11ish, so it was time for the party to end. Midler went and got Manny while Mariah paid the two boys for watching their son. They said goodnight to the brothers while Hol Horse saw the ladies off.

"So, uh, y'all think I'd get a girlfriend if I cleaned up my house up?" he asked.

"Oh definitely," Midler said, "It's a major turn off when the first thing she sees is spider webs and that messy mess of a mountain on your table right now."

He looked at the table and blushed. "I reckon this place needs a bit of a sprucing up."

"Just let us know and we'll come help ya. And if we get anymore dish on the Dio case, we'll come let ya know."

They told each other good night. The ladies walked back to their house. The moon was high up in the sky with a few clouds floating lazily on by. In the distance, there was the orangey glow of the city where some people's nights were just starting.

At their house, Manny was put to bed in his room. He had never awoken so in the morning he would just assume that he had been moved from one house to another in his sleep. One of the more comforting feelings in the world is knowing that your parents love you enough to carry you from one place to another without being disturbed. They tucked the _Toy Story_ blankets around him and gave him a kiss on the forehead before turning out the night. The glow of the night light would be enough in case he woke up with a fright later on.

Mariah showered while Midler removed her makeup. They both then crawled into bed, gave each other a kiss, then turned off the light.

"See ya in the morning," Mariah said looking at her wife.

"In a while crocodile," Midler giggled.

And then they fell asleep in each other's arms.


End file.
